Napa and Sonoma make for great blog content. This challenge may be a little harder during a less exciting work weekday. But for now, onwards to talking about my excellent weekend away with my in-laws.
We walked across the street to Plank, which has a great breakfast menu and delicious looking pastries. The guy in front of us recommended the Joe Zee bagel sandwich. It was an excellent recommendation and when I went to get water, he asked how I liked it. I ended up talking to him and his dining partner for about 5 minutes since I complimented his Tanglewood shirt and we talked about Western Massachusetts, James Taylor, and the beautiful Berkshires. Oh man, I really want to go back for a visit! Maybe next Fall…
Then, we were off to the wineries. Our first stop was a 1045 tasting at Medlock Ames. This was a lot of fun. Rex was the pourer. He thought I was funny in how I remembered and told the Old School Medlock Ames stories and of course if someone thinks I’m funny, I think they’re the best! We decided that we should have a line of wines that feature titles related to reasons for drinking sadness away: Homewrecker, Shattered Illusions, Lost Dreams, etc. This doesn’t seem funny typing it but it was a vibe, I promise.
Then we went to Troubadour Bread & Bistro for lunch. Rip and Linda got the Italian sandwich, which was an intense charcuterie-laden creation. Phew, meat sweats! SMS and I split the turkey pesto and had a bite of the Italian but we had to tap out. Too intense! I would like to go back there sometime for their French prix fixe dinner- it looks like a real treat!
After lunch, we headed to BACA wines. I am not the biggest fan of Zinfendels, but it was a nice tasting and the wines were good. Eric the pourer said this was because they use an optical sorter that prevents raisins from getting in the wine, which prevents the cloyingly sweet “off” notes. Eric had a lot of stories and information. It was cool to hear about his progression through different wineries as he found his retirement niche (One that I forget, Flowers, BACA).
I was the driver today and drove the Plaid. The passengers voted down Plaid mode (peasants), but hopefully I can try it at some point. The acceleration does seem quite powerful enough already. I’m sure I could get into trouble, Plaid-free.
We were going to go to Molti Amici in Healdsburg but the restaurant was unexpectedly closed so our reservation was canceled. We went to Catelli’s in Geyserville, which had been recommended by two people at BACA. It was quite delicious and a nice homey, informal vibe.
I feel like our real find in Geyserville was the Bannister Winery tasting room. We peeked in the window as the woman host had the door open and invited us in. SMS later said it was like his Dad and I were like two moths to a lightbulb. Rude. I think she could just spot suckers for wine a mile away. We went in and sampled two wines each. She was a character and had very well-thought out, dramatized reactions to different varietals and years. She sort of anthropomorphized each vintage year and she also had strong thoughts on the best age to drink Pinots (don’t talk to her prior to 5 years and 7 years is the sweet spot). The reason is that any younger, acidity is prominent and “overwhelms my brain so I can’t taste anything else.” As years go by, acidity mellows out and the texture deepens, the mouth feel elongates, and different layers are more clear. It was a neat perspective on how to view and think about wines. I loved it! Big theater kid energy approach to wine.
The tasting room is located in an old bank. The decor is beautiful and we walked into the old vault. It is really a gorgeous setting.
Tomorrow, no more wine tasting but we’re going to head to Mill Valley and the Golden Gate Bridge overlook. Should be spectacular!
Oh you truly had the best time in Napa and the weather was still so nice for October! So glad you were enjoying the time with family!
The weather is fantastic and the Fall colors are so pretty. I feel so lucky to be here this time of year!
I am not much of a wine person. So I have no idea what most of this means. Ha. But it sure looks like you had a fun time.
I wondered the whole time though about driving and drinking to be honest.
That painting in the end… it’s capturing. I dig it too.
Making sure the driving is covered is very important! We’re not the biggest drinkers amount-wise, but I have seen some groups who get pretty wasted. There’s a pretty robust car-for-hire industry here for that reason. We’ve done it once and it’s a good option. But this weekend is pretty mellow and yesterday, I drove. There’s a dump bucket available, which we all used to varying degrees.
OMG, I wan to beeee there too. It looks so lovely, sunshine and all. Thanks for sharing your holiday with us.
Happy November & NaBloPoMo adventure.
Another beautiful day in Napa! You found some beautiful wineries for sure. I didn’t know about raisins ruining the taste of Zinfandel, or of the age of Pinot being important. I am really hit or miss on both of these wines. Pinot, if I have a good one, is delicious. If it’s a bad one, it tastes like dirt. Earthy is a nicer way to say it.
Tobia made a good point about drinking and driving, and you mentioned the pretty good industry up there to mitigate risk. I’m thankful for that, because yeah, some people do get wasted, and it can be scary. I hate putting good wine in the buckets, especially with the price of some tastings, but I hate dying more.
I have zero interest in a DUI or, even worse, causing an accident that would hurt someone else. I had about 1/2 glass of wine total at each of the two stops, which is acceptable to me. I did have my own tasting glasses, but they were comped from our wine memberships. If I had to pay for the tastings, I would pass and just sneak a few sips of SMS’. Tastings are pricy and if I was dumping most of it, I wouldn’t spend the money on it.
What a fabulous two days of food and wine. I love places thatr have quirky decor and interesting things to look at while you eat and drink.